England men opened their EuroHockey Championship campaign with a comfortable victory over plucky Poland.
A 5-0 victory was aided by three goals in the last six minutes against a compact Poland side.
Victory was England’s sixth in a row against Poland dating back to the 1978 World Cup.
Poland men were competing at the EuroHockey the first time since 2017 following their stunning run in last summer’s qualifiers in Dublin where they defeated three higher-ranked teams in Italy, Ireland and, in the qualifying final, against Wales to secure their passage.
And they held out England until the 24th minute here. Zach Wallace had provided the touch of class – although replays suggested a backstick on his telling reverse crash ball – as David Goodfield touched in for the opening goal of the Championships.
Tom Sorsby had a number of creative opportunities as the standout player for England, including setting up Jacob Payton who lifted brilliantly for their second.
Phil Roper made sure of the points in the final quarter to set England on their way before a heavyweight Sunday afternoon clash against hosts Germany.
Two minutes later in the 56th minute, Sam Ward added gloss when he finally found the net from England’s 14th PC. Player of the match Sorsby finished off with a fifth late on.
“We had an up and down Pro League but we changed gear as a team and we are at a higher level now,” said Sorsby.
“It will be a tough test against the Germans. It will be a hell of a game and a real dog fight.”
Germany produce superb comeback
A remarkable three-goal volley from Germany in the last 10 minutes saw the men’s EuroHockey Championship hosts storm back from 2-0 down to defeat France.
A pair of French corner goals seemingly looked set to spoil the hosts party but struck three times between the 50th and 55th minute to grab a vital win.
In the first half, Corentin Sellier went close first when France affected to a strong counter-attack and he raced into the circle with his backhand shot fizzing just by the post.
At the far end, Corentin Saunier made a pair of outstanding saves, a double-block from Justus Weigand first of all and then from Paul-Phillip Kaufmann at close quarters.
Germany had spent much of the first half on the attack but the French defence held firm before taking the initiative in the third quarter.
They scored both of their first two corners, the first going in off François Goyet after a Victor Charlet’s drag-flick took a couple of ricochets.
Charlet’s next one was more direct, finding its way through Jean-Paul Danneberg along the ground for a 2-0 lead.
But no sooner had they built that lead than they were behind. Justus Weigand finished off a great move and then Gonzalo Peillat slammed in a corner flick to make it 2-2, digging them out of a hole three minutes after they were two down.
And, with five minutes left, Germany were in front for the first time when Michel Struthoff powered through a tackle and shot to the back post where Weigand was waiting to deflect in again.
